St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-10-03
HON. j. ii. TELLER DENIES.
He Makes Answer to Some Asser.
tions Recently Made by Globe
Correspondents at Washington.

He Makes Answer to Some ASSer-
tions Recently Made by Globe
Correspondent at Washington.
To the Editor of the Globe.
YANKTON, OAK, Sept. 30.-FrOm
your Watertown lerter, published few
days since, it seems that an attempt is
to be made to show that we are to-day
partaking of no new eXperience-that
there were bad men in the past, as we'll
as in the present, and that, if the course
of the present territorial administration,
in reference to the hospital for the in
sane, cannot be defended on its merits.
it is deemed wise to prove that former
officials have been influenced in their
public acts by selfish motives and small
course may be questioned, but need not
now be discussed. am Interested only
in the fact that your correspondent, in
carrying out his laudable attempt,
charges me with having refused, while
territorial secretary. to occupy quar-
tiers in the capitol at Bismarck, be-
cause incensed at the removal of the
capital from Yankton, where my in
terestS were, and that on going out of
office l so thoroughly robbed it of official
blanks that my successor was obliged
to apply to the governors of neighbOring
states and territories for forms of
blanks. From these charges one may
gather that your correspondent is re-
cent Importation, or, if resident of the
territory at the time of which he writes,
he was not sufficiently interested in
public affairs
TO TAKE NOTE OF CURRENT EVENTS.
Charges so easily refuted must be due
either to ignorance OF to malice, and the
latter should not be inferred in the case
of stranger who is so modest as to
withhold his signature from so valuable
a production. The secretary's Office was
located in the capitol at Bismarck as
soon as the rooms were ready for Occu-
paneyIbefore the workmen were out of
the building, in fact-and was kept there
during the legislative session follow
ing. In April, 1885, it was
moved to rooms down town, which had
been leased for the purpose by the ter
ritOrial auditor under authority of chap
ter IA, laws of 1885. The ignorance of
your correspondent, or the weakness of
his Inventions manifest in his insinua-
ton that this location was less cOnven-
lent for the public than that at the
capitol, when it is known that the latter
is at least a mile from the business cen
ter of Bismarck. while the former is in
oiiO Hoalb VI tiio CltS. AS GllS SdIlle
charge has been made, and that too in
official correspondence, by others who
cannot plead ignorance of the facts in
excuse, l may add that not only does
the law referred to clearly provide for
new offices, but it was passed by the
legislature only upon the most positive
and explicit pledges of its authors that
IT SHOULD BE so CONSTRUED.
Without such pledges the act would
not have been passed, and no apprOpria-
ton whatever would have been made
for the maintenance of offices. 1 was
| not one of the Or1ginators of the act,
but. to secure the needed appropriation,
l did join in the pledge as to the eX-
penditure of the money. For removing
to the offices provided by the territory,
and thus redeeming my pledge. I have
no excuse to offer. AT the time the
capitol was removed had no interests
i'll 1anktOn, not even such a speculative
interest as your correspondent may have
had in Bismarck.
AS to the other charge, I have to say
that [ left in the secretary's office Off
cial blanks of every kind used, includ-
ing some new forms prepared by myself.
More than that. l gave my successor
rules of most frequent application in the
business of the Office, in addition to
| numerous verbal suggestions. neither
destroyed nor carried away any papers
except such as were entirely personal
and properly at my disposal.
TO the charge that am a supporter
of the ''Yankton boodlers'' 1 cannot
plead until l know who the s'boodlers"
are-whether they are the men ac-
cused of misappropriating funds last
year or tn ose who openly withhold and
misapply the appropriations of this
| year. j. Fl. TELLER.